Woman accused of killing SEPTA driver had prior incidents as a juvenile, police say

A woman accused of shooting and killing a SEPTA bus driver in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood had been charged in the past for prior incidents on SEPTA vehicles, investigators said.

Zhontay Capers, 21, is charged with murder and other offenses, in the shooting death of 48-year-old Bernard Gribbin of Abington, Pennsylvania.

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On Thursday, Oct. 26, at 10:27 a.m., police responded to the 4600 block of Germantown Avenue for a report of a shooting. When they arrived they found Gribbin, the driver of a Route 23 SEPTA bus, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and throat.

Gribbin was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:36 a.m. that morning.

SEPTA said Gribbin, an Army veteran, had been with the mass transit company for the past 12-years and lived in Abington with his wife.

“As you can imagine this is a very traumatic incident for the entire SEPTA family,” SEPTA Police Chief Charles “Chuck” Lawson said. “Quite frankly, we’re shell-shocked.”

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Investigators later identified Capers as the suspect in the shooting.

Police said Capers had exited the bus, pulled out a gun and fired a shot at Gribbin. She then repeatedly reentered and exited the bus, firing a shot at Gribbin each time, according to police.

Multiple people were on the bus at the time of the shooting though none of the passengers were hurt.

Capers then fled the scene on foot before she was captured by a plainclothes SEPTA Police officer at Greene Street and Queen Avenue, investigators said.

Police believe Capers targeted the bus driver but they have not yet revealed a possible motive.

"This is a first where we're dealing with an unprovoked attack without any warning whatsoever on an employee of ours," Chief Lawson said.

As the investigation continues, more details are being revealed on Capers' criminal history.

SEPTA police said Capers had been charged twice as a juvenile for incidents in which she was on a SEPTA vehicle.

"Both were similar incidents involving her involved in an altercation with another female," Chief Lawson said. "One of them resulting in us arresting her for domestic assault and another one involved us issuing her a ticket for fare evasion."

Chief Lawson also said that prior to the Oct. 26 shooting, police had been searching for a woman who matched Capers' description in connection to an incident on Oct. 10 in which a woman got off a Route 60 bus and was last seen on a SEPTA platform on Broad and Erie. Witnesses had told police that the woman had a gun.

"We sent an informational bulletin to our officers as a woman who was carrying a handgun, a weapon on the transportation system," Chief Lawson said.

Those images were circulated only to SEPTA police and no other agencies, according to Lawson. He also said that there were no indications at the time of those reports that a crime had occurred and no threats had been made. By the time Gribbin was shot and killed, the woman involved in the Oct. 10 incident still had not been identified and no warrants had been issued.

Capers remains in custody at a county prison in Philadelphia.